Highlights of the 2nd Bioinformatics Student Symposium by ISCB RSG-UK [version 1]

Following the success of the 1 (st) Student Symposium by ISCB RSG-UK, a 2 (nd) Student Symposium took place on 7 (th) October 2015 at The Genome Analysis Centre, Norwich, UK. This short report summarizes the main highlights from the 2 (nd) Bioinformatics Student Symposium

Acceptance conditions in automated negotiation

In every negotiation with a deadline, one of the negotiating parties has to accept an offer to avoid a break off. A break off is usually an undesirable outcome for both parties, therefore it is important that a negotiator employs a proficient mechanism to decide under which conditions to accept. When designing such conditions one is faced with the acceptance dilemma: accepting the current offer may be suboptimal, as better offers may still be presented. On the other hand, accepting too late may prevent an agreement from being reached, resulting in a break off with no gain for either party. Motivated by the challenges of bilateral negotiations between automated agents and by the results and insights of the automated negotiating agents competition (ANAC), we classify and compare state-of-the-art generic acceptance conditions. We focus on decoupled acceptance conditions, i.e. conditions that do not depend on the bidding strategy that is used. We performed extensive experiments to compare the performance of acceptance conditions in combination with a broad range of bidding strategies and negotiation domains. Furthermore we propose new acceptance conditions and we demonstrate that they outperform the other conditions that we study. In particular, it is shown that they outperform the standard acceptance condition of comparing the current offer with the offer the agent is ready to send out. We also provide insight in to why some conditions work better than others and investigate correlations between the properties of the negotiation environment and the efficacy of acceptance condition

Biological activities of Rumex dentatus L: Evaluation of methanol and hexane extracts

Rumex dentatus L. (Plygonaceae) extracts were evaluated for antibacterial, antifungal, cytotoxic, antitumor and allopathic potential. The leaf, stem and root extracts were prepared in methanol and hexane by simple maceration. The methanol extracts of root and shoot were found effective against all the bacterial strains tested. Zone of inhibition ranged between 9.7 to 12.1 mm. While the hexane extracts inhibited fungal growth (up to 80%) more efficiently than the methanol extracts. Concentration of different the extracts of R. dentatus effectively inhibited tumor induction on the potato discs produced by wild type Agrobacterium strains At10 and At6. The root extracts either in methanol or hexane showed LD50 values below 1000 ppm in brine shrimp mortality assay. The methanol extracts of leaf and stem inhibited radish seed germination (70 and 61% respectively) and root length more than the hexane extracts. The R. dentatus methanol extract showed presence of alkaloids, saponins, anthraquinones and tannins while flavonoids were also found in both methanol as well as hexane extract

Ethnobotany Study of Medicinal Plants Used in the Treatment of Respiratory Diseases in the Middle Region of Oum Rbai

The ethnobotanical study carried out in the region of Oum Rbia (Morocco) made it possible to identify the medicinal plants used by the local population and to collect the maximum information on this use. A survey of 1360 people from the region's population noted that 170 people use medicinal plants against respiratory diseases. Women accounted for 55.3% of the workforce versus 44.7% for men; Married people 70% against 28% for singles. The illiteracy rate is high (34.1%). The leaves are the most widely used part of the plant. Infusion and decoction are the most commonly used methods for preparing traditional remedies. The most widely used species in the treatment of respiratory diseases are: Origanun glandulosum, Eucalyptus globulus, Nigella sativa, Mentha pulegium, Lavandula stoechas, Zingiber officinale, Ammodaucus leucotrichus, Ficus carica. In addition, some species have toxicity either because of the ignorance of the necessary dose or because the people treated are affected by other diseases. Thus, the survey made it possible to inventory 66 medicinal species which are divided into 36 plant families; Lamiaceae (21.2%), Myrtaceae (10.6%), Apiaceae (8.8%), Amaryllydaceae (7.7%) and Zingiberaceae (7.1%). These results resulted in a catalog of medicinal plants used in the study area to treat respiratory diseases. It is a local know-how that must be considered as a heritage to be preserved and developed

Self-Compacting Concrete Reinforced with Steel Fibers from Scrap Tires: Rheological and Mechanical Properties

The aim of this study is to evaluate the rheological behavior and the mechanical performance of SCC with different contents and lengths of recycled steel fiber (RSF) recovered from scrap tires. The rheological properties investigated in this study include: slump flow, J-ring, L-box, and V-funnel tests. The mechanical properties include: compressive and flexural strength. The parameters of the study are fiber content and length. In total, thirteen self-compacting concrete (SCC) mixtures were prepared. Three fibers contents 30, 60 and 90 kg/m3 were investigated and for each fiber contents Wf , four mixes were prepared with four different fiber lengths (Lf) (10, 15, 25, 35 mm). A control mix (plain SCC) was also prepared for comparison reasons. The results showed that the addition of RSF decreased the slump flow, slowed down the flow rate and increased the V-funnel time but maintained the requirement of SCC up to 60 kg/m3 fiber content. Shorter fibers had less effect on the rheological behavior of SCC than long fibers. Both RSF content and length affected the compressive strength and the flexural strength of SCC. Long RSF reduced compressive strength but increased the flexural strength

HISTOCHEMICAL INVESTIGATION OF TWO MEDICINAL PLANTS IN MAHARASHTRA

The histochemical studies of leaves and wood of Butea monosperma ­Lam and Madhuca indica Gmel. are medicinal important plants in Maharashtra. For histochemical studies the free hand sections of leaves and wood were taken and treated with the respective reagent in localize components, viz. starch, protein, tannin, saponin, fat, glucosides and alkaloids in the tissues. Key words: Histochemistry, starch, protein, tannin, saponin, fat, glucosides and alkaloid

Measuring stress, coping, strain and hopefulness of Brazilian family members of substance misusers:Factor structure of a set of measures

Objectives: We evaluated the psychometric properties of the Brazilian version of a set of measures designed to assess four psychological constructs associated with having a substance misusing relative in the family: the Family Member Impact (FMI), the Symptom Rating Test (SRT), the Coping Questionnaire (COPE) Hopefulness-hopelessness scale (HOPE). Methods: Secondary data from 3056 affected family members (AFMs) was analyzed. Factor structure of the measures and group invariance across gender were assessed using confirmatory factor analysis. Results: The Brazilian version of COPE showed that a four-factor model with 24 items fit the data better than the original three-factor model with 30 items. The FMI measure showed that a three-factor model is more appropriated to the Brazilian version of the scale than the original two-factor model. HOPE and SRT (29 items) Brazilian’s version had the same two-factor model structure. This set of measures presented full measurement and structural invariance for both male and female. Conclusions: Findings provide support for the structural validity of the Brazilian version of a set of standard measures for the assessment of stress, coping, strain and hopefulness of AFMs by their relatives’ substance misuse. As this is the first study to explore the factorial model of the measures, it provides further support for the use of these instruments for future studies aiming to explore means on supporting AFMs in Brazil and elsewhere.</p

Addition of N-nucleophiles to gold(III)-bound isocyanides leading to short-lived gold(III) acyclic diaminocarbene complexes

Addition of hydrazone to gold(iii)–isocyanides led to the generation of rare short-lived gold(iii) acyclic diaminocarbene complexes.</p